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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Steel_Wind" data-source="post: 5438986" data-attributes="member: 20741">It is interesting that the default premise of “online” game means VTT. I certainly used to think so as well, but as matters have turned out – this need not be the case.  Both of my gaming groups have mow switched to a hybrid face-to-face + remote playing experience and it was worked out extremely well for us. Moreover, the nature of the relationship I have with my gaming buddies has made the transition to online play seamlessly. So while I appreciate the comments that DannyAlcatraz has made in terms of social interaction is highly germane – that doesn’t mean you can’t have it during an online game. And it doesn’t mean you have to use a VTT to play online, too.  As a consequence of having to run a game with the podcast  hosts for our Chronicles: Pathfinder Podcast, we looked at ways to bring remote players to the table at the same time as three other players + the GM were participating in an ordinary face-to-face game for Kingmaker. We added Skype video and multiple cameras with picture-in-picture displays so we can see all the other players at the table, the other remote players, and the battlemat and minis – all at the same time on our screens.  We’ve got this technological approach refined now. Due to the addition of a player and the recent move from one of the players from San Fran  to Washington State, we now have four players playing remotely and only one GM and two players playing face-to-face at the table.  Using a combination of Skype video and Justin TV – this has proved to be quite easy to do. In fact, we then used the same method to have me attend at my local game, too. My local group is on the other side of the city (Toronto) and it’s a mullti-hour commute for me to get there. Attending via Skype video conferencing has been exactly the same as my being there. The only real difference in terms of social interaction is that I’m not chipping in $5 for pizza and instead order my own pizza here and share it with the rest of my family.  Because there is no downtime in travel involved, and because it is so damned convenient to just throw up Skype video  -- I must confess that I have come to prefer it over attending face-to-face because the hassle of the commute is so significant for me.  Yes, you need some equipment to pull this off. You need a good bandwidth connection, preferably hard-wired. You want a couple of 720p Microsoft cams at the game table and a great omni-directional microphone to pick up everybody’s voice in the room. A Blue Snowball or Yeti USB microphone  is ideal which we had already for podcast recording.  At the bigger game where we use Justin TV as well (we use it for another video channel for the main battlemat), we also have ab audio  mixer in use to balance out sound levels streaming to Justin so people watching the sessions have an easier listening experience.  So yes, this is AV equipment that most of you probably don’t have. But adding it isn’t all THAT expensive. The overall resulting game   experience is exactly the same as being there in person. No VTT stuff getting in the way of the game experience – or the social experience -- at all.  The downside is that Skype multi-conference video is now starting to charge as of this month, so that we will need to add at least one person with a $9 a month video conference account to keep this feed. While I appreciate this may sound quite complicated (and expensive) to many people here, the fact is, it is extremely doable and very achievable for anybody here to pull off.  I have enjoyed the experience so much that I now actually have come to prefer it as it avoids all my travel and downtime (and the attendant cost of all that – which is actually pretty high for me).  Bottom line: Online need not mean VTT. It can mean bones, minis, battlemats and face-to-face video used to run the game for an experience that completely duplicates the game experience of being there.</blockquote>

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